- Date
- October 29, 2005, 13:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Port Huron, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N165WMMcClintock Glasair SH-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20051029032039A
- Case key
- 62746
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot not maintaining airplane control during landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The experimental amateur-built airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain while landing. A post impact fire occurred. A Sheriff's interview stated, "When asked if there was some sort of equipment malfunction or if he knew what the cause of the accident was, [the pilot] stated it was not an equipment malfunction, that he has had a new propeller installed that has a lower pitch, therefore he had to up the RPM'S for the landing and at that point lost control and hit the ground and rolled."
Factual narrative
On October 29, 2005, about 1320 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built McClintock Glasair SH-2, N165WM, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain while landing at the St. Clair County International Airport, near Port Huron, Michigan. A post impact fire occurred. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized. The local flight originated at time unknown.
A witness stated:
When I came out of the hanger I saw the plane coming down
with the wings horizontal to the ground with the left wing pointing
down. The left wing hit the ground first forcing the plane to nose
dive, when the front end hit the ground the plane flattened out
and landed on its bottom, then slid about 100 ft and started on fire.
A St. Clair County Sheriff's Deputy interviewed the pilot after the accident. The record of interview, in part, stated:
In speaking with him briefly, [the pilot] was only able to say that
he was involved in an accident while landing. When asked if there
was some sort of equipment malfunction or if he knew what the
cause of the accident was, he stated it was not an equipment
malfunction, that he has had a new propeller installed and has a
lower pitch, therefore he had to up the RPM'S for the landing and
at that point lost control and hit the ground and rolled. He was
unable to provide anymore information reference the crash besides
that information.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N165WM
- Reported as
- McClintock Glasair SH-2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 165
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert W. May
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
- Destination
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
- Airport
- PHN · St Clair County Intl
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.36 inHg
- Observed at
- PHN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.